what programs are required on startup to run windows xp, i have a bunch of programs runnin on my my new puter?

Question

which programs are essential to run windows xp version? i am goin to the startup menu on my new computer and it is running slow and i need to shut some unnessary programs dwn, can anyone hlp me? this is a hp puter used in my home mostly for internet purposes bought in sept of 02. larry

Answer 1

its best to uninstall what u dont need from add / remove programs ...

Answer 2

All I allow to run on my PC is my antivirus, firewall, and spyware protection. NOTHING else actually needs to run, unless you cannot wait an additional second or two for a program to launch when you click on its icon.

Give these tips a try, it should help alot.

A major cause of slow PC's is fragmentation of the hard drive.
You need to defragment the HD at least once a week if not more depending on how much you use your computer, and what you do with it.

One way is to use the defragment utility built into Windows XP. It is slow but does the job rather well. Go to:
Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools and then click on System Defrag to run the tool. It may take several hours, so let it run overnight or simply walk away from your PC for a few hours.

A great program for defragging automatically is Diskeeper. It costs $30 but is well worth it. Go to http://www.download.com and search for Diskeeper. Read the Publishers Description and the Editor and User reviews. It can be scheduled to run automatically as the program deems necessary, and if you are using your PC and the program launches itself, it will take a backseat to whatever you are doing and give you the priority for CPU usage. I think you'll agree it's a good program to have. It precludes your needing to remember to defrag at regular intervals.

Another major cause of a slow PC is programs that are running in the background. Here's another really good Microsoft tool. It’s called Autoruns and it was written by SysInternals who were recently bought up by Microsoft.

Before you download the program create a folder under program files called Autoruns. Leave Windows Explore open.

Launch Internet Explored and go to the following Microsoft web page.

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/utilities/autoruns.mspx

Go to the bottom of the page and download the Autoruns program. After it downloads open the file. It is a Zip file. Unzip the file and you will see 4 files. Drag and drop those 4 files to the Autoruns folder you created under Program Files.

Once you have the 4 files in the C:\Program Files\Autoruns folder you can double click on the file titled “autoruns”.

This will bring up a window with several tabs at the top. Click on the “Logon” tab. It will list the programs that are running on your PC and eating up resources. Look them over carefully and turn off any that don’t absolutely have to be running. Simply click on the “check mark” in the little box beside the program name. Clicking on it will remove the check mark. Once you have edited the Startup list, click on Apply and then on OK.
NOTE: Leave items that show Windows; System 32; Program Files; etc. alone. Shutting them off may cause some things not to work.

Once you have exited the window, reboot your PC for the settings to take effect.

WARNING: Don’t go into the other tabs and start deleting things. You will probably give yourself major headaches if you do that. Stay focused on the “Logon” List only.

Another good thing to have is a little program called FreeRAM XP Pro. It is free and is available from http://www.download.com This program puts a little RAM meter on the System Tray and shows how much RAM you have remaining that you are not using at any given time. I think you may be surprised at how little RAM you have to run other programs. Also, once it is installed you can right click on the little meter, then click on RESTORE and it will open the RAM display window. You can tweak the settings so it will display your CPU usage also. Then just click “Minimize” and then “To System Tray” to return to the Task Bar.

What happens when you run out of or run real low on RAM is that the OS recognizes the low or no RAM situation and starts using a section of your hard drive as memory. This is called virtual memory, or a swap file. The PC is constantly writing and reading from your HD. Comparitively, it is a very slow process. Check your motherboard manual and determine how much RAM each slot can hold. It will also tell you what type of RAM you need. You can also go to http://www.crucial.com or http://www.4allmemory.com and run their analysis utility to determine what kind and how much RAM is installed in your PC. Depend on your MoBo manual to determine the RAM limits of each slot though.

Hope this helps

Answer 3

Larry, windows do not need any other programs to run; Windows RUN other programs.

Any way, before you start playing with your program start up utility try the following maintenance steps that I recommend. In this material, you will find the Utilities Tuneup program, use that little utility to guide you how to work with your start up utility.

Good luck

HOW TO DO A THOROUGH CLEAN UP:
Before doing any of the maintenance steps outlined below make sure that your system is free from viruses and/or of any other undesirable Internet bugs, by running a thorough security scan of your machine.
Now, do the following as needed:
“I” (FOR WINDOWS XP-IE6)
While you are connected to the Internet do the following:
1. Click on tools ... Internet options. There you will see three buttons next to each other... “Delete Cookies” ... “Delete Files” and “Settings.” Also, below the settings button you will see another one “Clear history.”
2. Click on “settings” - go to “Edit” - Click on “select all” - Go to files, click delete and wait till all Internet trash files are gone.
3. Go back and click on “delete cookies” and wait till all cookies are gone
4. Go back and click on “Delete files,” put a check mark on the little white square shown on the small window that will open, click OK and wait for a little.
5. Go back and click on “Clear history”, click “yes” and you are done. Go to item “III” now.
ADDITIONAL INFO.: Here is how to clean website addresses from you IE6 browser bar: While you are connected to Internet, go to “Tools” … “Internet Options,” “Content” tab … “Auto Complete button” … click on “clear forms” and you are finished.

“II” (FOR WINDOWS XP-IE7):
Go to Start … Control Panel … Internet Options. Under “Browsing history” click “Delete” and then click “Delete all,” put a check mark in the little white square and then click “Yes” and you are done. Go to Item “III” now.

“III” (FOR BOTH WIN-IE6 AND WIN-IE7)
1. Do a check disk and a defrag, then restart your computer and see if the problem is resolved. It is assumed that you know how to do a check disc and disc difragmentation.
2. If the above steps don’t do the job, here is a little program that keeps your machine in shape and free from Windows micro-problems that lead to slowness and crashes:
Get on the web and go to http://www.tune-up.com/products/tuneup-utilities/site; download the free trial program, familiarize your self with it and use it to clean up your registry automatically along with a sort of other helpful and useful maintenance chores. It is an excellent little program and does wonders with PC maintenance tasks and I strongly recommend it! It works on the background on its own automatically.
3. After you are through with the above maintenance steps, go to Microsoft/Windows updates and download any and all available and/or applicable updates.
Hope this helps!
NDS

Answer 4

Well,
You can shut any program except antivirus,antispyware and firewall.
There also are some softwares can speed up your pc:
http://speed-up-pc.info

Answer 5

go ahead and disable all startup apps.click start,run,msconfig,startup, then disable all,restart.voila goodluck